


I'm here to retrieve a friend

by VanillaHorizon



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Andrastians, Angst, Banter, Binge Drinking, Black City (Dragon Age), Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Chant of Light (Dragon Age), Drinking, Drinking Games, Excessive Drinking, F/F, F/M, Fade, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fun, Gen, Heavy Drinking, Interracial By Fantasy Standards, Interracial Relationship, Iron Bull being Iron Bull, Light Angst, M/M, Magic, Minor Character Death, Not Canon Compliant, Romance, Thedas, Warden and bull banter, Worry, bad egg, because the egg was bad, griffons, minor racism, no solas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2019-09-13 03:24:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16884720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaHorizon/pseuds/VanillaHorizon
Summary: Marian Hawke got left in the fade. Now, behold, Warden Commander Elissa Cousland to the rescue, along with some friends of course, because she always inspires loyalty among even the strangest of companions.Featuring Barkspawn!(Rated Mature for adult situations, canon typical violence, and excessive alcohol use)





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varric and Cullen chat. Varric wants to know if there's a way to get his friend back. Elissa gets a letter, as does Fenris, so it looks like they have something to do. (Edited on 4/12/2019)

In Skyhold, Varric and Cullen were taking a moment to chat, somehow the two had become quite close friends after the whole ‘Hawke sacrificing herself for the good of everyone else’ thing.

“I know it’s hard, I too have lost people before, close friends too and I will tell you this, the wounds never really heal,” Cullen started, “But in time it doesn’t ache as much as it used to,” he added.

“Yea, it’s just hard, I received Isabela’s letter and the words just made me wish I didn’t have to be the one to write them and tell them all,” he sighed, “And then when I received Carver’s, it just made me feel so bad for him, he’s the only Hawke left now,” Varric explained.

Varric had even sought out the resident witch in hopes that there may be a way to bring Hawke back, but she admitted that even she wasn’t powerful enough alone to do such a thing as going into the fade to bring her back.

Cole was a subject for Varric’s questions also, but once a being of the fade, even he had no knowledge of how to bring Hawke back.

He even ventured far enough to seek wisdom from Dorian, although his conclusion was much the same as the one Morrigan made, it would take several powerful people with strong connections to the fade, and a consistent source of lyrium power to even attempt venturing into the fade for such a task.

Little did Varric know, that Morrigan knew something that could help them, so she had already sent word to two certain people she knew that had a strange connection to the fade, and that Anders and Fenris too had the same goal, for once they could agree that something needed to be done to get their friend back.

***

It had been a few weeks since the letters were sent and Fenris was the last to receive his.

Fenris received his letter while in Tevinter to find out that not only was Hawke gone, but that Varric had no knowledge of where Anders was except that he was last seen near the inn where Fenris was staying, in the company of a few other mages, a mabari, a golem and potentially the Hero of Ferelden.

“I should find him and tell him, shouldn’t be too hard to find him if he’s being accompanied by a golem.” Fenris sighed as he folded the letter neatly and slid it into the pouch on his belt.

***

Wynne, Anders, Shale, Velanna, Elissa Cousland, and her trusted mabari, Barkspawn, had just made their way into the marketplace after retrieving a tome from an old man living in the sewers under the city, a tome supposedly from the second blight that had some information about the taint and how it might be cured, when a messenger ran up to the group with a letter in his hand.

“Uh, miss- Warden Commander, a witch sent this for you.” the boy said nervously, handing Elissa the letter before looking up at Shale then hurrying to scurry away as soon as Shale looked down at him and met his eyes.

“I wonder if that means Morrigan is reaching out to you?” Wynne wondered out loud.

Anders sputtered in surprise, “You mean the daughter of the witch of the wilds?” he exclaimed.

Elissa chuckled, “The one and only.” she said as she broke the wax seal on the letter and read the note out loud.

“Wynne, Elissa, I know you’re on a quest of your own right now, but I require your presence, along with any mages you travel with presently, perhaps the ones who accompanied you to the fade while repairing the veil at the Blackmarsh if at all possible,” Elissa said as she looked back at the mages she traveled with.

“She means us?” Velanna asked suspiciously.

“How does she even know about the Blackmarsh?” Anders questioned.

Elissa laughed, “She is the witch of the wilds after all.”

“Presently I am at the fortress Skyhold, I do hope you will be quick about it, someone’s life is on the line, and I do know how you love saving people from the fade.” she read, “Wow, I can hear her sarcasm,” Elissa commented before folding the letter back up and slipping it into her pocket.

“Wait, Skyhold?” Anders mused, “That sounds familiar for some reason.”

“Well, who wants to go back to the fade?” Elissa put on a cheerful smirk as she asked them.

Shale scoffed, “Do we really have a choice?” she said.

“Why not, not the first time, but at least this time we’re not being forced to go into the fade.” Velanna laughed weakly at her own joke.

Wynne laughed a bit as well, “Just like old times I suppose.” she joked as she glanced at Elissa who too was smiling.

“Just like old times,” Elissa assured her.

***

“Damn it, where in Thedas is that damned abomination?” Fenris growled as he hurried through the marketplace, apparently finding a golem in a crowd was much harder than he expected it to be.

Suddenly he heard a bark, “Mabari.” the word had left his mouth as he turned toward the direction from which he heard the bark come.

***

“So, let me get this right, you left Nathaniel in charge of Amaranthine, and split warden duties between Sigrun and Oghren, are you sure that was a good idea?” Anders asked Elissa as their group walked toward the docks.

“Of course,” Elissa assured him, “Nathaniel was raised to one day lead Amaranthine anyway, so I didn’t have to teach him anything, and when it comes to warden duties, Sigrun is handling the more delicate issues, like replying to letters, helping the recruits with any questions, while Oghren is in charge of the less fragile issues, like training recruits, dealing with hostile forces that don’t like whatever it is that they don’t like,” she explained.

Anders hummed, “I suppose you do have a good plan on that front.” he nodded.

Apparently, Wynne had given Barkspawn a treat at about that time because he barked happily and spun around in circles as soon as the group approached the docks.

***

Fenris rushed through the crowd as fast as he could once he realized the bark had, in fact, came from the docks, “Anders!” he screamed as soon as he saw the mage about to board a ship.

“Fenris, what are you doing here?”

“Now, since I’m done chasing after you, I have a letter from Varric,” he said as he retrieved the letter from his pouch.

“Friend of yours?” Elissa questioned from behind him.

Anders scoffed, “I wouldn’t say a friend, more like someone whose name I know.” he joked as he started to read the letter, “Wait, ‘Greetings from Skyhold’ wh-” Anders started to ask Fenris a question but Fenris cut him off.

“Just read,” he commanded.

***

A half days trip was all it took to get back to Ferelden in order to retrieve Carver because thankfully the sea was working in their favor that day.

“Nathaniel, get Carver, now, tell him we’re going to Skyhold,” Elissa commanded as soon as they stepped foot in Vigils Keep.

***

Most of the inquisition members were sitting in a large common room, just spending some time together in their free time, sharing stories and laughing, Dorian had even convinced Bull, Krem and Morrigan to join them.

“I’m just telling you what I was told about the Hero of Ferelden.” Varric defended himself when both Leliana and Morrigan shot down what Anders once said about the Hero of Ferelden being a sweet, innocent little noblewoman.

“I tell you, she’s anything but a sweet, innocent little noblewoman, I should know, while in Denerim she slept with an elf named Zevran-” Morrigan started.

“The assassin hired to kill us all,” Leliana added.

“And some pirate named Isabella, so Elissa is far from an innocent little chantry sister.” Morrigan continued.

“Wait, what?” Varric held up his hands, “I know a pirate named Isabella, and I think we met Zevran just outside of Kirkwall!” he exclaimed.

Leliana burst out laughing, “Maker’s breath, I can’t believe you thought she was innocent, she has cut the heads off of more men than I could possibly count, in the words of Zevran, ‘She is absolutely terrifying’ and that is an exact quote.” she said.

“I think I’d like to meet this lady.” Bull laughed.

Cole appeared at just that moment, “I think you’ll appreciate who is coming to visit then.” he said before disappearing again.

“Wait, Cole, what do you mean?” Cullen asked.

“A spirit of faith and one of justice turned vengeance from the taint, other tainted ones, mages, a golem, a loyal companion, a hero even, they approach all with one goal.” his voice said from somewhere in the room.

“I knew she’d come,” Morrigan whispered the words to herself, but Cassandra too had heard them.

“You mean, you sent for someone and didn’t clear it with us first?” Cassandra yelled.

“I sent for no one, I just suggested a friend should come to visit,” Morrigan said sweetly.

Leliana stepped between the two of them, “Morrigan, did you really find her?” she asked, to which Morrigan simply nodded.

“Perhaps, time will tell you soon enough,” she said before shape-shifting into a crow and leaving through the window.

“Is it just me or can she really creep a person out?” Krem asked no one in particular.

“Oh, believe me, it’s not just you that she creeps out,” Dorian assured him.

A guard hurried in through the door at just that time, doubled over, panting “Commander, a group approaches, mages, two of the group even look like elves, there’s a golem and it looks like a few of them might even be grey wardens!” he exclaimed as he attempted to catch his breath.

***

“There it is, Skyhold,” Carver said as he glanced down at the area marked on the map then back up at the fortress they approached.

“Hope their welcoming party doesn’t try killing us before we go in,” Velanna said from on top of one of Shale’s shoulders as she attempted to adjust the uniform she was wearing.

“That’s why I suggested we wear our official armor so we don’t get plowed down by anyone.” Elissa said as she glanced over to Anders who was even wearing a warden uniform, “Now, let’s go retrieve Hawke.” she said as she walked further ahead of the group, Wynne awed from her place on Shale’s other shoulder.

“This place is absolutely beautiful.” she mused as she and Velanna both moved to get down from Shale's shoulders to continue their walk to Skyhold on their own feet.

“That it is.” Fenris agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dearest mother of all that's unholy! I had an absolutely atrocious writing style back when I first started this so I'm going back through this fanfiction now and fixing stuff other than simple grammatical errors. ~ V  
> 8/22/2019


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elissa gets greeted at the gates. The Iron Bull makes a comment to Dorian which makes Elissa think she's going to get along well with him. Cole appearing out of thin air doesn't even phase Elissa, she's seen enough shit to be desensitized to it by now. (Edited on 4/12/2019)

A majority of Skyhold’s inhabitants were already gawking at the approaching figures in the distance, and apparently, the guards had already told every and any person who would listen that a few of the people were dressed as grey wardens.

“Commander, Seeker, what do you want us to do?” one of the guards asked as soon as they saw Cullen and Cassandra coming toward them.

“Just get these people back, we don’t know anything, for all we know they could be hostile,” Cullen demanded.

“Dear Commander, I have looked for myself, and I know that they will not be hostile unless you give them reason to be, so I suggest you keep your hand away from the hilt of your sword, especially when you speak to the woman saved you from a demon’s grasp so many years ago,” Morrigan said from the brick she perched on that was protruding from the wall halfway up its height.

Cullen’s breath caught in his throat as Morrigan spoke, because of course he remembered that day, he remembered seeing the witch there too, along with a few others who were apparently accompanying the grey warden Cousland, but he hated remembering it, he hated it with an undying passion, the demons spilling their lies, trying to get him to give in, he still had nightmares about the whole ordeal, even so many years later.

***

By the time the group actually reached the gates of Skyhold, Elissa had taken up residence on Shale’s left shoulder and forced Carver to sit on her right one, no matter how much he protested and insisted that it would be uncomfortable.

Whispers could already be heard as they neared the gates, “I hope they don’t attack us.” Carver whispered to Elissa quietly.

“They would be idiots to, I mean look at us, we’re pretty fucking scary looking, a mabari, a bunch of mages, grey wardens, a golem, and a glowing fucking elf!” she exclaimed playfully. “I mean, would you fuck with us?” she joked, surprisingly even getting a small chuckle from Fenris, and an actual laugh from Velanna.

***

“Halt, what business do you have at Skyhold?” Cullen demanded as he stepped through the gates and looked up to the golem’s shoulders at the two grey wardens presiding there.

“I remember you,” Anders mumbled quietly, mainly to himself, but their group heard him.

“I am the warden commander of Ferelden, Elissa Cousland, and I’m here for one reason, Ser Cullen, I’m here to retrieve a friend from the fade with the assistance of my present traveling companions,” Elissa spoke calmly as she gracefully hopped down from Shale’s shoulder without so much as making a noise when she landed perfectly in front of Cullen.

He immediately recognized her as soon as she stood her full height, only having to glance up a small amount to meet his eyes.

He also recognized several of her companions, Wynne, he remembered her from the circle, Carver he recognized as Hawke’s little brother and the other two men standing there he remembered as two of Hawke’s other companions.

“How do you know my name?” he questioned, although he already knew, he had to know if she really remembered that day or if whoever sent for her and her companions had told her of his name.

“The circle.” was all she said before turning her attention to someone else, Morrigan, who had appeared alongside several others, eager to meet their guest.

“Prepared?” was all Morrigan asked.

A chuckle came from Elissa’s lips, “At least this time it’s by choice.” she laughed.

“Blondie!” Varric greeted loudly, “I thought you said you were done with the wardens?” he questioned.

“I was, but we figured that in official uniform we were less likely to be attacked," he explained.

“Anyone who would attack us would get their squishy little heads smashed by me, the uniforms weren’t necessary,” Shale said plainly.

“Is that a golem?” Dorian exclaimed, shoving Bull out of the way to get closer, but was stopped from getting too close when Velanna stuck her hand out and smacked him on the chest.

Wynne clicked her tongue at him, “Young man, I would advise against whatever you just planned to do regarding Shale.” she warned.

“Shale?” he questioned, “You mean the golem?”

The old mage shook her head in affirmation.

“Exactly what she meant.” Elissa said sternly, “Shale has free will and if you are to attempt anything with her then she will react as a person would.” she explained.

“Except with much more force,” Fenris whispered.

***

Soon enough, Elissa and her companions were being led through the gates when suddenly a redheaded blur rushed in between everyone with enough force to knock a few people over.

Within seconds, Leliana’s legs were wrapped around Elissa’s waist and their lips were crashing together, only stumbling for a second as the shock caught her off guard, most everyone still present averted their gaze.

The kiss lasted mere seconds but still by the time the two parted, one of Elissa’s hands were planted firmly on Leliana’s rear end and the other holding her waist on the opposite side while they both panted lightly.

“Thought you were dead.” she angrily accused.

“Now, that was one hell of an ‘I missed you’ Sister Nightingale.” Elissa joked with a smirk.

“I hate you,” Leliana said firmlym legs still wrapped around Elissa's waist.

“I know, but I was having a serious conversation with our dear mages about venturing back into the fade, and it’s slightly harder to have a serious one with you wrapped around me, especially in such a seductive position.” she laughed as Leliana unwrapped her legs from around her waist.

“Why don’t you ever jump me like that Dorian?” Bull asked, causing Dorian to start sputtering incoherently as he tried to come up with something to say.

Elissa started laughing hysterically, “You and I, big guy, are going to get along just fine.” she smirked up at the horned warrior before smacking the qunari on the shoulder playfully.

***

Introductions were made, while Varric and Morrigan had to explain why a group of strangers showed up at their front gate.

“While I did ask Morrigan, Cole, and Dorian if there was a way to get Hawke back from the fade, I had nothing to do with these guys showing up, I just told them about Hawke staying behind so everyone else could get out,” Varric stated as he waved his hand between the three men that once traveled alongside Hawke.

“When he asked me of it, I knew someone would have to have a very strong connection to the fade, in order to venture there and back with hopes of saving his friend, and as far as I know, only one nonmage has ever ventured to the fade twice and returned both times with all who accompanied her, and once with an extra companion coming out with her,” Morrigan explained as she gestured to Elissa.

“An extra companion?” Cassandra asked as she turned her attention to Elissa.

Dorian stood up at about that time, “Wait, wait, you’ve been to the fade and back, not once but twice?” he questioned.

Elissa just nodded her answers, “The extra companion, he was a spirit of-” she was cut off my Cole appearing out of thin air and speaking.

“Justice turned vengeance from the taint,” he said.

“Thank you, I was getting there though,” she chuckled softly, not the least bit phased by the boy appearing out of nowhere.

“So you’re possessed?” Cassandra accused.

“What?” she gasped indignantly, “No!” she yelled, “Of course not,”

Anders stepped up in front of Elissa, “She’s not but when we came out of the fade, he possessed the corpse of a fallen warden, not her.” he defended.

“Like I would trust the word of an apostate hiding among the warden ranks.” Cassandra accused.

“Now you wait just a minute you dirty little-” Velanna started to speak but Elissa quickly put a hand over her mouth and whispered something in her ear before she had a chance to light the seeker on fire.

Before Elissa could give Cassandra a piece of her mind, Carver stepped in, “You have no reason to trust any of us, but even though the commander doesn’t know my sister, she’s still willing to attempt to bring her back from the fade for us.” he said as he motioned behind him at Fenris and Anders.

“She was our friend and it would be wrong to not at least try bringing her back if it is possible.” Fenris was the one who spoke.

“Yes, what they said, and since according to Morrigan, I am the only nonmage who has ever made the journey, I’m willing to give it a shot,” Elissa admitted.

“You’d be willing to venture into the fade to save someone you’ve never even met?” Dorian questioned.

Elissa laughed a bit, “There are worse ways to die.” she said grimly as a dark expression passed over her face.

“So, that means you are ready to do so?” Morrigan asked from the doorway.

“Sure, but don’t you need a lot of lyrium to do this and a few more mages?” Elissa's gaze shifted from Dorian to Morrigan as she spoke.

“Not with how we’re going to do it,” Wynne said as she stepped through the door with a book in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one wasn't as bad to touch up as the last chapter. Probably thanks to all of the time in between chapters being posted. Eitherway here's to growing as a writer!  
> ~ V  
> 8/22/2019


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fenris wants to save his friend. Cassandra doesn't like the whole plan. Velanna and Morrigan somehow become friendly towards one another. Elissa is sneaking just because. Cullen almost gets plowed over by Barkspawn then thanks Elissa for what she did at the tower. (Edited on 4/12/2019)

As soon as the mages started to explain the process, Elissa had already figured out the biggest points from their half absent conversations with each other while they seemingly forgot that there were other people in the room with them.

“So, you’re all going to use the magic that’s seeped into the rocks here, to turn Shale into a beacon, that we’re going to be tied to while we’re in the fade, so we can get back in one piece?” Elissa summarized as best she could with the information the group of mages just gave her.

“In a sense, yes.” Dorian said cheerfully, “You’re really good at this, are you sure you’re not a scholar or something?” he asked.

Elissa looked at him with a smile, “Nope, just good at figuring things out quickly.” she explained, "You okay with all of this Carver?" she asked the warden seated beside her, knowing that since he couldn't go he was going to be upset.

"As long as you try to get her back for me, she's the only family I've truly got left," he said.

***

“You said that since she’s been to the fade before that she has a connection to it, correct?” Fenris approached Morrigan as she flipped through one of the several grimoires she had been looking through.

“That I did, it’s rare for a non mage to venture into the fade in such a way and return.” she replied as she trailed her fingers down the page in front of her, “It gives the person a sort of ability to return but with magical assistance of course.” she continued.

“What if you were in someone’s dream- a dalish keeper sent us into a dreamers mind to either retrieve him before he could become possessed or to kill him before he could enter the real world,” Fenris explained.

As she heard Fenris give an explanation, this did catch Morrigan’s attention, “You wish to go with them.” she guessed as she glanced away from the pages just long enough to gauge his expression.

He just nodded, “We’ll start preparations first thing in the morning, so be ready by midday tomorrow.” she told him.

***

That evening, Cullen, Cassandra, and Varric were on the battlements, Cassandra was furiously tapping her foot against the stones, “I still do not approve of this.” Cassandra grumbled to the two men.

“Nor do I, but according to Wynne, Dorian, Cole, and Morrigan, it’s a safe enough venture,” Cullen said as he leaned back against the wall.

Varric was mostly quiet during their exchange, “Something on your mind?” Cullen asked him.

At first, he just hummed a response, “Just worried they’ll all end up trapped like Hawke.” he admitted.

“That will not happen,” Cullen said, more in an attempt to assure himself than to assure Varric, after all, several of those people heading into the fade had saved him in one way or another before, and he never even thanked some of them.

Soon enough, the sun was starting to set, so the three left the battlements and headed their separate ways.

***

Velanna and Morrigan almost immediately hit it off, so they went off on their own the first chance they got, chatting about shapeshifting, fireballs and whatever else, while most everyone else Elissa brought to Skyhold, had made their way to the tavern, the exception being Shale and Wynne who had already been dragged off by an eager dwarf whose name Elissa didn’t quite recall, that wanted to ask Shale questions, Wynne decided to accompany them to make sure Shale didn’t get herself into any trouble.

With Barkspawn on her heels, Elissa ventured around the courtyard of Skyhold, sticking to the shadows of course, while she snooped around, she wasn’t really looking for anything, sneaking was just in her nature, felt good to hide in plain sight, granted the giant mabari at her side probably drew a lot of attention whether they could see her beside it or not.

After scoping out most all of Skyhold, she found the entrance to the battlements, or so she figured, she really didn’t have any reason to go sit on a wall, either way, she never did it at Vigils Keep, or even Highever when she was young, so why do it at Skyhold, but as she walked by, the door opened and out came Cullen, Cassandra, and Varric, all three looking utterly defeated.

Elissa decided to watch which direction they each headed off too, Varric headed towards the tavern, she decided to go to the tavern shortly, after all everyone else probably already ended up there, Cassandra headed off toward what she guessed was the training yard and Cullen, he headed toward the armory.

She briefly weighed her choices, “On one hand, Cassandra looks more angry than sad.” she said to her mabari, “Oh, wait, that’s a reason to not talk to her, let us go make sure Cullen is okay.” she whispered to Barkspawn before sending him after Cullen ahead of her.

***

A bark behind him made Cullen turn just in time to see a mabari barreling toward him, being pursued by the warden commander, quickly sidestepping, he narrowly avoided being knocked down by the mabari.

“Oh, hi.” Elissa greeted as she stopped running just in front of him, “Sorry about him, he likes to run.” she said with a smile.

“It’s quite alright Lady Cousland,” he told her calmly.

She hummed, “Please, just call me Elissa, I am far from a pampered noblewoman now." she smiled, "Something is on your mind Commander.” she pointed out, “I’m all ears if you want to get it off your chest.” she added.

“I suppose the stories Leliana says are true, no one can keep a secret from you.” he joked, to which Elissa only shrugged, “I never got the chance to thank you for what you did at the tower,” he whispered.

She smiled, “Just doing what I do, saving people, killing things that need killing, I suppose it’s just part of the grey warden job description.” she told him.

“Still, I thank you, and wish you the best of luck with your mission to bring Hawke back tomorrow, she’s a decent person, even if she was a bit of a pain in my backside back in Kirkwall.”

“Oh, yeah, Carver, Anders and Fenris told me all about the trouble she used to cause in Kirkwall while we were on our way here.” she laughed, “Well, anyway I’m off to the tavern, with any luck they’ll have some dwarven ale and someone that I can challenge to a drinking contest,” she said before she whistled for Barkspawn and hurried toward the tavern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I remember back when I first started this, I had a writing schedule but had long since lost the ability to keep a posting schedule, and now here I am with neither, go figure.  
> ~ V  
> 8/22/2019


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elissa gets that drinking contest she wanted, along with a few shiny new sovereigns. Leliana gets greeted by her long lost love, that smells like a tavern floor with a bottle of wine and a rose. (Edited on 4/12/2019)

When Elissa entered the tavern she nearly bumped into Wynne who had apparently just walked in moments before she did.

"How did Shale react to being the center of attention?" she asked the mage in front of her before the two of them made their way to a table.

"She was a bit unsettled but Dagna knew not to do anything foolish to upset her so I left them to speak alone, she's eager to learn about the golem and their abilities apparently." Wynne chuckled.

Just as Elissa was about to reply, a voice called for her and Wynne's attention.

When she looked over she saw it was Varric and Anders who were waving them over from the table where they sat with a rather large variety of other people, including Fenris who was glaring lividly at the Tevinter mage sitting across from him beside the resident Qunari.

"Cabot, drinks for these fine young ladies!" Varric called across the tavern as they neared the table.

"If you think me young, you must be utterly blind Ser Tethras." Wynne joked as she sat down, quickly accompanied by Elissa and Barkspawn who parked himself between the two women's seats.

A woman walked over and greeted the two women soon after they sat down and started to chat with their present company, asking what they wanted to drink, to which both women replied "Do you have any dwarven ale?" this reply caught the attention of Varric, Bull, Dorian, and even Fenris.

"You two can't be serious?" Dorian was the one to break the silence.

"Absolutely serious, if I'm going to drink something the day before I might die, it's going to have to be strong enough to make me forget I have feet." Elissa calmly replied.

Wynne hummed an agreement, "I quite agree with her sentiment, but I simply enjoy the taste of dwarven ale more than most other drinks since our visit to Orzammar." she said.

"Sorry, but I think dwarven ale might be a bit too strong for you two to be drinking it," Bull told them.

Anders cleared his throat, trying to get the men to stop talking before something bad happened like someone got drunk under the table or lost their gold on a bet that Elissa would surely win.

"Please, don't underestimate her." Carver pleaded with the qunari.

"I don't think it's safe for them to drink something so strong." Fenris agreed with the couple across the table begrudgingly.

Elissa laughed as a few more people joined their table, "Okay, I was looking for a challenge anyway, what are you drinking big guy" she asked smoothly.

"Oh no." Anders groaned before burying his head in his hands and whispering something about getting ready for someone to have a hangover come morning.

"Only the strongest, they've been calling it dragon piss." Bull's second in command spoke up.

"Shut up Krem, it's too strong for them." he scolded.

Wynne hummed thoughtfully, "Remember the deep roads when Ogren first shared some of that with us?" she reminisced.

"Oh, I slept like a pampered mabari that night, and I was laying in between a temperamental golem and a very fragrant dwarf." Elissa laughed.

"Wait, you've drunk this before?" Varric and Dorian both asked, though Varric's question was more of an impressed tone, and Dorian's was more of a disgusted tone.

***

Soon the qunari that Elissa had begun a drinking contest with had already started to slur his words, while Elissa still had all her sense about her and was starting in on their third keg.

"What even are you?" Bull exclaimed as he attempted to point at her, only to start leaning to the side.

"I'm a cute little unsuspecting human who has clearly won this contest." she smiled at the group who mostly bet against her, aside from Wynne, Anders, and Carver who already knew she wouldn't lose.

"Well shite," Sera started as she glanced between the two, "Looks like you damn did it." she laughed.

"Come on Bull, let us get you in bed before you pass out," Dorian suggested as he rubbed the qunari's back.

"You put a qunari on his ass, that is some heavy shit." Varric mused as soon as Dorian had Bull out of earshot.

Elissa laughed, "Damn right I did, now pay up boys." she said as she glanced around the table at the remaining patrons who mostly all started to pull coins out of the pouches on their waists to pay their losses.

***

As the night wore on, Elissa found herself listening to what seemed like a heated debate between Krem and Fenris in fluent Tevene when she finally decided she had a good enough time at the tavern and that she needed to seek out a certain redhead whose presence she had sorely missed over the last decade and a half.

"Wynne, Barkspawn's asleep so I'm going to leave him with you until you head to your room, then you can send him my way if you want-" she started to babble but Wynne raised her hand to signal for her to quit babbling.

"I know you haven't seen her in a while, he can sleep in my room tonight dear."

"Thank you, Wynne," Elissa said with a smile before hugging the older woman.

Before she left the tavern, however, with her recent winnings, she paid the woman serving the drinks to fetch her a bottle of the best Orlesian wine she had handy.

After leaving the tavern she stopped in the garden with one goal, finding a single red rose.

***

Leliana was nervously pacing when next she heard from Elissa, the moon was already high in the sky when she heard a cork being removed from a bottle just outside her door, causing her to stop pacing.

"Sister Nightingale, I know you just heard that and that’s why you stopped pacing." Elissa’s voice purred from outside her room.

She quickly undid the lock on her door and opened it to see Elissa in her usual warden commander armor, holding a bottle of wine in the hand not bracing herself against the doorway, with a single red rose in her mouth.

"You can pick locks, why not just come in?" Leliana muttered.

Elissa moved to take the rose out of her mouth and tuck it behind Leliana’s ear, "Yes, and risk getting skewered?" she hummed, "No, I think I’d like keeping all my blood inside of me tonight." she joked as she stepped into Leliana’s room.

"It has been a while since we parted ways, and I just thought some Orlesian wine might do us some good," she explained as she moved to sit on the edge of the writing desk adjacent the balcony doors.

"You smell like you’ve taken a nap on a tavern floor." Leliana laughed as she wrapped her arms around Elissa.

Elissa chuckled a little, "I had a friendly drinking contest with Bull." she said before burying her nose in Leliana’s hair

"I missed you." Leliana whispered. 

"I don’t want you to go back to the fade." she admitted after a short silence.

"I know beautiful, I know." Elissa said quietly as she rubbed circles on Leliana's back, "You know it's dangerous, but if there is a chance I could save her, you know I should at least attempt to, plus I'll be accompanied by two of the greatest healers in all of Thedas, so I most definitely will come back to you." she continued.

Leliana sighed and looked up to meet the warden's eyes, "I'm sorry about leaving you to-" she started to speak but was quickly cut off when Elissa captured her mouth with hers.

"You don't have to apologize, it's what you wanted to do, and to be fair, I'm proud you're such an accomplished woman now," she started before smirking at the redhead in front of her.

"Almost makes me more jealous than lustful at this point, almost." she joked, gaining a small slap on her thigh.

"You're awful." Leliana joked, "Now about that wine?" she said with a mischievous smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I adore these two so much. Granted it's not even my favorite Dragon Age ship, I still adore them. I've recently noticed that a female Cousland is my most played origin story and that 7 out of 10 times I always romance Zevran with said Cousland, then out of the remaining three I usually romance Leliana 2 times and Alistair only 1 time. Perhaps I just have a thing for rogues, I mean, after all, I ship a non-romanced Warden with Nathaniel Howe most of the time. Though it is a pity I never got to 'tap that' for momentary lack of a better phrase.  
> ~ V  
> 8/22/2019


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Into the fade, they go. Fenris is grumpy. Dorian is intrigued. Elissa turns into a golem. (Edited before being posted)

Morning had come far sooner than Elissa had hoped it would.

The sun started to shine through the windows on the verily smoldering hearth and gave Elissa just enough light to see the woman lying beside her in the floor in front of the fireplace on a small pile of furs, her red hair was a mess, but truth be told, Elissa couldn't think of a more beautiful sight to see first thing in the morning.

A muffled groan came from the bard turned spymaster, "Why did I let you talk me into sleeping on the floor?" she asked.

"Because you got a bit too tipsy to stand up and you didn't want me to carry you to bed, so we slept down here."

"Oh, sorry," Leliana whispered as she moved to sit up beside Elissa.

Elissa kissed her forehead, "No need to be sorry, you cried a bit about my decision to go back into the fade, then I kissed you, you kissed me," she started to tell her "Then we did a lot more than kiss each other." she added the last bit in a more sultry voice.

"We still have a while before anyone needs us, right?" Elissa asked, to which she received a nod, "Good." she said as she pulled Leliana on top of her, "Then let us spend some more time together." she said with a mischievous smirk before claiming Leliana's mouth with hers again.

Just as things started to get more heated Leliana's door swung open, "Leliana, have you seen Elis- Woah! Oh my goodness!" Josephine squealed as she saw the two of them in the middle of Leliana's floor and quickly averted her eyes "I am so sorry, I didn't realize the two of you were- uhm, involved." she muttered, still staring at the wall.

Leliana hurried to grab a fur to pull around her exposed body when she scurried to get off of top of Elissa, while Elissa just leaned her head back against a pillow, "What do you need?" she asked the woman calmly.

"I- uh," she paused for a minute as if trying to remember what she did need, "Oh, I was making sure you were awake and preparing for your little venture into the fade," she said.

"Thank you, dear, I am awake, and I'll prepare shortly, no worries."

***

"Well, that was nice," Leliana whispered to Elissa as they walked toward the courtyard.

"Indeed it was, but perhaps you should warn your friend before I stay in your room again."

Morrigan soon appeared in front of them, "Good of you to finally join us, we are just about to start," she told Elissa, "Also, the lyrium-laced elf will be joining you, Velanna, Dorian, Anders, and Wynne." she added before falling in step with the two women.

"If I'm not mistaken, all you would need is an assassin, a qunari and the king of Ferelden then the whole merry gang from your blight ending days would be here, am I right?" Varric's voice caught the three women off guard.

"I suppose you're right, although he was a crow, not just a mere assassin, and the qunari was a Sten, not your run of the mill tal-vashoth or anything," Elissa told him proudly as they stopped to talk to the dwarf.

"And during the blight, he was just a bastard prince," Morrigan added, "Nothing more than a sheltered chantry boy, always blushing at the slightest mention of anything remotely sensual, and certainly not a king yet." Morrigan scoffed.

"Hey, I fixed the sheltered chantry boy part too." Elissa pointed out.

"I'm sure he could never blush more than he did when you suggested what you did at Denerim that day." Morrigan laughed a genuine laugh, making Leliana and Elissa laugh too, before leaving Varric to wonder what in Thedas they were all talking about.

***

"Are you all sure you wish to do this?" Morrigan asked the group again, to which they all gave various forms of assurance.

"I still think you should wait until the Inquisitor gets back before you do anything so dramatic as to venture back into the fade." Cassandra objected.

Cullen made his way toward the group, "I agree, we should wait." he told them, and that was when Varric decided to give his word.

"The longer we wait, the less a chance we have of bringing her back," he warned the knight commander.

"I apologize for your concerns, but Varric is right, if we wish to bring her back, the longer we wait, the lesser of a chance of her being alive when we do find her," Dorian said as he walked over towards the group.

Morrigan cleared her throat, "Now, Dorian once on the other side of the veil, you will need to keep a tether on Shale's location in order for you all to get back in one piece." she notified the mage.

"Yes, I know, I helped you make this cockamamie plan, and I fully hold myself responsible if I'm the one to mess it up."

Elissa chuckled at Thedas's two sassiest mages, at least that's what she called them earlier in the day, "Come on, the fade is a fucked up place, let us go punch some demons, deal with a bunch of flaming templars, and stab some pissed off spirits." she joked before grabbing the Tevinter mage by the arm and pulling him toward the golem they had traced several ancient runes around on the ground.

"Aha, your enthusiasm is utterly terrifying if I may be so bold as to say so." he nervously told the woman who was smiling brightly, like they weren't about to travel into the ever-dangerous fade without a single idea of where Hawke was in the vast beyond.

"Get used to it." Anders and Velanna both simultaneously warned him in joking tones.

***

The group arrived in the fade in a very odd way, by waking up, "There's probably a joke in here somewhere about how most people wake up to leave the fade." Elissa chuckled as the first few of her companions opened their eyes.

"What happened, and why does my head feel like it has been stomped on?" Fenris groaned before Elissa moved to his side to help him to his feet.

"Don't worry, just a side effect from the whole being thrust headfirst, body and all into the fade thing." Dorian attempted to joke before bowing over cradling his head in his hands and groaning.

Velanna moaned in pain from where she was laying as she started to wake up, "Easy boys, let Wynne and Anders fix those aches and pains before we attempt to get out of these cages." Elissa told the group, who only just then noticed that they were in fact separated into two cells, and outside of their cells sat Shale in what would most likely be called a meditative state with magic pulsating around her.

"You know, I could make a joke about at least waking up in my own clothes this time." Anders laughed as he helped Velanna to her feet.

"Ha, I remember I made a joke that day about being happy I at least woke up in clothes at all," Elissa said.

Anders, Dorian, and Velanna were in their cell attempting to either freeze or melt the lock enough to break it and get out, with no such luck.

"It seems that our magic has no effect on this metal." Dorian finally admitted, just as Elissa let out a string of various, profound curse words in no particular order.

"Can't be picked either." she huffed, "Hey, Velanna, remember what I told you about the mouse I met during my first trip?" she asked the mage in the cell opposite her, to which she nodded, "Want to fly?" Elissa smirked.

Velanna smiled in return, "Sure, the keys have to be somewhere, right?" she replied before backing away from the bars as far as she could.

"Might want to give us a bit of room," Elissa warned, getting everyone to move to the sides of the cells, giving them enough room to get a running start toward the bars.

"What in all of Thedas are they up to?" Dorian asked Anders, who in return just shrugged his shoulders because even he had no absolute idea what his fellow wardens were up to.

The two women took a running start toward the doors of each of their cells and to most everyone's surprise, Elissa and Velanna shapeshifted as they neared the bars and got out without a problem.

When Fenris saw Elissa turn into a mouse and slide between the bars, even though he was still disoriented by pain, he immediately got to his feet and reached for the sword on his back.

"You lied when you said you weren't a mage." the words came out as more of a growl than anything, but Elissa just raised an eyebrow, completely unintimidated by him.

"I didn't lie, now let Wynne fix that thumping in your head while we look for a way to get you lot out of these cages."

Velanna and Elissa walked away looking everywhere for some way to get the others out while Fenris venomously refused Wynne's healing.

"Fenris, you came with us to assist us, correct?" Elissa questioned but didn't glance back toward the elf as she stood on the tips of her toes to look on top of a nearby shelf.

He mumbled an agreement, sounding more like a child than a warrior at that exact moment.

"What good are you going to be to her if you can't hold your own sword without holding the side of your head then?"

Anders nodded his head, "She's right, with you unable to fight, it could lead to difficulties should we have to defend Hawke and you both against demons and spirits." the voice that came from his lips wasn't quite his, but also wasn't quite Justice's voice either, but a mixture of them both.

"Thank you, Justice." Elissa hummed as she grabbed an ancient looking keyring from the wall beside the shelf she was just looking on top of, "Now let Wynne fix you up, she won't harm you, if she does then you can run me through." she said.

Her persuasion worked quite well apparently, because moments later Fenris was fully on his feet, no longer looking like a dying man.

The doors to their cells were unlocked quickly and the group ventured away from their starting point.

"Your voice changed back there, what was that?" Dorian asked Anders, trying to conceal his intrigue but failing miserably.

"That was Justice," Velanna answered before Anders had the chance.

Dorian turned his gaze forward, "Justice, turned Vengeance from the taint." he finally connected the dots as he remembered what Cole had said.

Fenris venomously mumbled something about Anders being an abomination but no one paid him any attention, "Couldn't have said it better myself." Wynne said, but her voice this time was also not her own, but an otherworldly voice, causing Elissa to look back in surprise.

"Faith?" she asked.

"I once knew the Justice you first met, he is not the same as the one that possesses your friend today." a solemn nod accompanied the words, "I do not know the spirit that holds him now, nor does he know me," she said as she glanced over at Anders.

"Do not worry for you have my help as you may need it." the voice faded back to Wynne's own with the last few words.

***

With Faith's guidance they soon found a strange wall of fire blocking their way, on the other side they could see what appeared to be a small pond, but they had no way of extinguishing the fire from their side, well at least they didn't think they did.

"Not this shit again." Elissa groaned, "As soon as I do this you all should be ready for a fight." she warned the group.

What happened next had Dorian and Fenris both questioning their sanity.

Elissa had caught on fire before their very eyes and when she turned around to look at them from the other side of the flames, they saw nothing but the face of a stranger's decaying corpse.

A series of ear ringing screeches seemed to have come from all directions when she turned back into her human self, signaling she needed to hurry, so she did just that.

She took a running leap into the pond and just as she took on the appearance of a golem she touched the surface of the water.

When she landed in the water, a wave soared through the air landing on the wall of fire where the pond below her and the wall of fire in front of her comrades seemingly disappeared.

"Wow." was all Dorian said as he witnessed the woman take on her own appearance again.

Before he had the chance to fire off any questions they found themselves surrounded by demons, shades, and wisps all three.

This was going to be one hell of an adventure tale, that is if they lived to tell it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Tis I, your fellow fandom nerd, finally posting something. Yes, I'm alive just been having some issues in the living world that have prevented me from writing. No worries though, none of my works are abandoned, just pushed to the side for a while while I attempt to get my life straightened out. If you wish you can find me on Tumblr [Here](https://thevanillahorizon.tumblr.com), where you can usually find me reblogging all sorts of various fandom related things, I'm also open to messages, asks, etc.  
> ~ V  
> 6/6/2019


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fade happenings. If you ask Velanna then Fenris acts like a child. Elissa and Velanna start hearing voices! Dorian wonders if anyone is home in that head of Elissa's. Memories from the fade make this venture all the more strange. Inquisitor returns to Skyhold and he is a big fanboy of the HOF. Our fade team runs into a strange creature and a small bit of angst will ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! A longer chapter! Woohoo! Rejoice for an update has come!

A fight ensued, just as Elissa had expected.

In all fairness, she was just happy that there weren't any flaming mabari barreling toward her this time as she fought off the creatures of the fade.

It was also a bonus to not be alone like on her first venture into the fade, though the circumstances could've been better ones and given the situation that they were in she couldn't complain much.

A ball of fire zoomed by her as she drove a dagger through a demon's eye socket.

Somewhere behind her, she heard someone's walking bomb explode and splatter some unfortunate beast across the ground.

When the last wisp fell, she turned to the mismatched group and smiled encouragingly.

"We handled that well, now let us go try to find a champion."

Most of them nodded their agreements, so they set off once again shortly after the mages' mana started to recharge.

With some prompting from Wynne's spiritual half, they soon found themselves in a much different landscape.

"This is where the other spirits and demons have been drawn to, but they dare not get any closer because the victim they want refuses their offers and so strikes them down before they can get away." Wynne's lips moved as the otherworldly voice came out.

"And how do you know that, Faith?" Elissa was genuinely curious as she did not see any spirits nor demons in their immediate vicinity.

A soft smile came across Wynne's features, "Just because you do not see them does not mean they are not here, it just means they are hiding and you are not their goal." the words were kind, but Elissa felt they were also a bit of a warning as well.

Wynne's voice faded back to her own as they walked forward and Fenris looked as though he had just swallowed a lemon whole.

At least the looks he was sending to most of the group was probably enough to scare off any of the more threatening citizens of the fade.

"You look like you've sat on a cactus, Fenris." Velanna's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"I do not." his reply was clipped and full of hatred.

Velanna growled at the tan elf's disrespectful tone and if they weren't on a mission to save someone then she surely would've caught him on fire without so much as a second thought, but they had a job to do first.

She could revisit the idea of turning him into kindling later, but only if he kept acting as if he were a small petulant child.

"Look's like you're not the only grumpy assed elf in Thedas with a pure hatred for everything." Elissa jokingly nudged the mage with her shoulder causing a small smirk to cross her face.

"I've gotten better, thank you." Velanna huffed exaggeratedly at the commander as she failed to keep the happy expression off of her face.

A comfortable silence fell between the two wardens as they continued to walk.

"What's that?" Dorian's eyes lifted to the horizon where the Warden was pointing at a collum of smoke.

"My first guess would be something that is not good." Dorian's reply was met by an inhuman scream in the distance causing Elissa to jump.

The two then glanced at each other with expressions of confusion painted on their faces before they came to a silent agreement and nodded before taking off running at a near breakneck pace toward the smoke and the general direction that the scream had come from.

As Elissa ran she heard the footsteps of those behind her telling her that they were keeping up and that set her pace as she weaved through the miscellaneous maze that was the fade.

Tree-like structures, debris floating in the air as if there were a shipwreck at sea and mounds of dirt that resembled fallen castle towers made up their path wind and weave as they ran toward the billowing collum of smoke.

The fade was a strange place indeed but stranger still was the fact that the ground was not weaving wildly as they walked but that it was flat, much unlike her last two trips to the fade.

Elissa came to an abrupt stop, dropping to her knees just as she came to a clearing.

Velanna called her name as she too dropped to her knees.

Concern took over Wynne as she saw Anders too start to stagger before shaking his head lightly.

"Are you three okay?" Dorian asked as he reached out a hand toward Anders to support him.

Justice's voice came out of his mouth "Something is wrong here, it is something dark and something more evil than even the Baroness."

Velanna clutched the sides of her head tightly as Elissa groaned in pain.

"And that's an archdemon." Elissa stumbled as she raised to her feet, but quickly regained her composure.

"Wait, there's an archdemon here in the fade?" Dorian practically squeaked the question.

She nodded weakly, "That's what that sound was before, I just didn't notice what it was until now."

"It would be best if I stay alert, Commander." Justice's voice came from Anders' lips.

"I agree, you're probably unaffected by this kind of thing like we might be." 

He simply nodded a silent reply before offering Velanna assistance getting up.

***

Voices started to echo around the group, although only Velanna and Elissa could truly hear them.

"Zazikel, you will not command me." 

"I am not yours to command."

"You are not my god and I will not bow to you!"

Many voices surrounded them and it was getting harder and harder for Elissa to focus on anything but the disembodied voices.

Names too joined the chanting of songs soon after, names she knew from history.

Neriah was one such name that she could make out among the many unfamiliar voices.

Some of the strange names, like Neriah's came out as a strained cry, she could imagine it was the warden Corin that cried her name, as she knew the story of Neriah's sacrifice to save her lover.

A beautiful story of sacrifice turned into something of a heroes story for the ages.

"Are you okay in there?" Elissa's senses came back to her as Dorian waved his hand in front of her face.

"Yes- yes, I'm sorry." she shook her head to clear the fog from her thoughts.

"Good, because I think we might be getting close to something big." he emphasized the word 'big' by spreading his hands far apart.

Sure enough, they soon found themselves face to face with something big.

A memory of people long since gone and the setting seemed to be Antiva city if she remembered correctly from her many visits there in her youth.

The only difference was that it was much less grand than she remembered it, perhaps due to the fact that she was an adult now, but she felt that was the wrong assumption.

From the looks of the city it was just being built, or perhaps rebuilt.

Even the air around them started to shift as they walked through the ever-changing memory.

"This is absolutely extraordinary!" Dorian smiled widely, looking like he was a pirate who had just found a long lost treasure map as he glanced around at the memory.

Overhead a woman riding a griffon appeared, soaring far overhead, causing the crowd of people to shout and cheer.

"I heard she was the Hero's lover." a woman gossiped.

"The Vael girl?" a second woman huffed, "Don't be so ridiculous, he was an elf."

Just as soon as the memory seemed to have appeared it vanished.

A low roar shook the very ground they were walking on.

"Dorian, I think we found your something big," Elissa whispered to the mustached mage.

"Oh gee, you think?" He furiously whispered back as he motioned toward a giant beast not far away that towered over the scattered bodies laying on the ground all around it.

As they walked, Wynne, Fenris, Dorian, and Justice had been speaking among themselves while Velanna and Elissa were in trance-like states of complete unawareness.

***

Meanwhile, in Skyhold, the Inquisitor had just arrived back from his latest outing, but unlike most other times he arrived back, no one greeted him at the gate.

"That's unusual." Blackwall glanced around a bit, looking for any sign of someone, but found nothing.

"Guess I'm just not as important as I was back when I had both arms." the qunari joked causing Blackwall to laugh and Sera to snort.

"Must be it, I'll take your mount to the stable, go see what's going on."

Sera ran up beside the Inquisitor, "So, Inky, now since the old geezer's not here wanna tell me what's really got your panties in a bunch?"

"Sera, for the last time, I do not wear panties and even if I did, they are not in a bunch." He huffed.

"I bet it's about your girlfriend!" she cackled maniacally before snorting.

Talven just shook his head with a defeated groan, "She is not my girlfriend, Sera."

"Of course she ain't, cause you ain't put the moves on her yet."

Whatever reply Talven was about to say was abruptly forgotten as he found most of the Inquisition members gathered around a golem and a small group of strangers.

The runes on the ground surrounding each of them were glowing a calming purple hue.

He stepped toward Cassandra who was staring at the golem with a scowl.

"Looks like I missed something." his voice made the hair on the back of Cassandra's neck stand up and her cheeks turn a bright and vivid shade of red.

Sera watched from a bit away for a few seconds and she shook her head at the two clueless dummies before she turned toward the tavern.

Even the tips of Cassandra's ears were red when she noticed how close the Inquisitor was standing to her back.

"Adaar, you're back?"

"You sound surprised, Seeker." to Cassandra's ears, his voice was as sweet as honey and as smooth as polished steel.

"I- no, I just didn't think you would be back so early."

Talven smirked, "That's pretty much what surprise is, Cassandra." his tone was a joking one and it eased a bit of the tension that her shoulders held.

She cleared her throat before speaking again, "Perhaps I should explain all of this." she motioned toward the group of people who seemingly were all asleep sitting up.

"I guess we could talk about that too." he sounded a bit disappointed but motioned for Cassandra to lead the way.

***

"Okay, one more time." Talven shook his head.

"The Hero of Ferelden is down there, right now, venturing through the fade to rescue the Champion of Kirkwall?"

Leliana smirked, "That is pretty much the basis, yes."

"That is so cool!" he smiled widely.

"Do you think that after she's done I could talk to her?"

Even Cullen chuckled at the Inquisitor's childlike glee regarding the Hero of Ferelden.

"I'm serious, the stories I've heard about her are amazing!"

Josephine laughed, "I'm sure she would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have, but I believe you might have to fight Varric for the first conversation." she joked.

"Yes, Elissa would be more than willing to share some stories, I'm sure of it," Leliana told him.

"You're on a first-name basis with her?" his eyes lit up.

"As I'm sure you will be as soon as she meets you."

***

A blast of magic shook the ground beneath the group.

"That has to be Hawke." Fenris ran toward where the sound came from before anyone could stop him.

Elissa soon followed without being prompted to and kept close as they got closer to the large beast which seemingly had just tossed a person's corpse.

The great creature looked like something between a pride demon, a darkspawn broodmother and a dragon all three at the same time.

With the size of a small dragon and tentacles flaring out from the very spaces that spinal spikes would normally be on a dragon, Elissa glanced up at the creature for only a split second in utter disgust.

In front of the creature, Fenris and Elissa noticed a lump of a person, draped in cloth that looked very different from the rest of the bodies surrounding the creature.

"Hawke!" Fenris called out for her, already knowing she was right there.

Unfortunately, Fenris' voice drew the attention of the beast.

The movement may have gone unnoticed by the dragon-like beast but not by Fenris or Elissa, the person there had just moved ever so slightly. 

As Elissa tackled Fenris out of the way of the creatures flailing claw, the rest of the group emerged and readied their weapons.

Back on her feet before the creature could even attempt to snap its jaws closed on the warrior beside her, Elissa thrust out her hand and yelled something in a tongue that even the spirits accompanying her did not know.

The creature stopped in its tracks as the unknown word or words left her lips.

She did not know what she said, truthfully she did not even know what possessed her to do whatever she just did, but she was thankful either way.

Now since the creature was seemingly calm, Elissa slowly approached the strange-looking beast.

"Commander, don't!" Justice hissed the words, but she did not hear them, she could not, because something was driving her.

Like someone else was in command of her body and mind, she took small silent steps, staring into the creatures milky white eyes, this creature was tainted, she could tell.

Velanna started to walk toward the beast as well, gently laying her staff on the ground as she approached.

Around them, the fade started to shift once again, but this time it did not seem to be a memory, but an actual place.

The two women did not notice this as their eyes were trained on the creature that towered above them both.

"Is that?" Velanna started to ask Elissa a question but she seeming lost track of her words as she reached her hand up toward the beast's snout.

"I think it is," she whispered.

Elissa followed suit and reached out for the creatures chin.

Around them, everyone watched the scene unfold silently, though out of fear or confusion who could know.

Hawke was no longer playing possum but watching the two wardens from her place on the ground.

Velanna's hand touched the creature's snout first, and as her hand touched it a soft glow spread across its snout, seemingly stripping away any tainted evil and revealing a yellow beak underneath layers upon layers of filth, dirt, blood, and bile.

"What's happening?" Dorian asked Justice and Wynne.

"This was once a long-forgotten place, and now it has been found, she has been found." Justice's voice was quiet and somber.

"What- Who is?" Dorian started to ask a follow-up question but shook his head in exasperation, "Nevermind."

Hawke rose to her knees in an attempt to get up which almost immediately pulled Fenris' attention away from the two wardens.

He scurried over to her side as quickly as he could while the creature seemed to not be paying attention to anything or anyone but the two women in front of it.

Elissa watched in awe as the evil seeped away from where Velanna had touched it before she took a chance and ghosted her hand over the front of the creature's shoulder blade.

On its shoulder and neck, silvery grey feathers soon started to show under the grime as it cleared away like oil touching water.

The twisted gore on top of the creatures head that loosely resembled demon horns soon subsided as well, showing even more shimmering feathers and what appeared to be a shattered piece of head armor loosely hanging around the creature's neck.

Velanna's hand inched further up the creature's beak and as her hand moved, the filth seemed to disappear, eventually even clearing away the milky white of the creature's left eye revealing a shimmering golden iris.

A smile came to Elissa's face, "You're not a monster, are you?" she leaned closer and wrapped her arm around the creature's neck which cleared away even more of the fleshy substance that was covering the beast.

"That's a griffon." Dorian was almost breathless and his mouth hung open as he saw the gore disappear before his very eyes.

The griffon chirped happily and started to purr as it rubbed its beak against Velanna's shoulder affectionately.

What appeared to be tentacles at first glance were really just decoration on the griffon's age-old armor and the leathery wings were not leathery at all, but just a bit taint covered.

"Elissa, have you looked at anything other than the griffon yet?" Faith's voice caught her attention.

She glanced around and saw what the spirit inside of Wynne was speaking of, it was speaking of the gates that stood on a small island floating nearby that stood slightly ajar and covered in a blackened version of the taint.

A crumbling cobblestone walkway led up towards a larger floating island from the tainted gateway

"Andraste's ass, those- that's the gate, the entrance to-" Elissa tried for the words but they came out a jumbled mess instead.

The spirit nodded an affirmation.

Even Dorian was speechless when he noticed his surroundings.

"Imagine, we're probably the first people to ever see this." Dorian spread his arms wide.

"Even spirits and demons stay away from these gates for fear of the taint, but your goal was a worthy and noble one so the taint will not corrupt those of your group that are uncorrupted." Faith explained.

"Wait, what about us?" Elissa motioned toward herself, Velanna and Anders.

Faith tilted her head to the side, "You did not notice how the taint on the griffon subsided when you touched it?"

"Of course I did, but I don't quite understand why." her reply was an honest one.

"I am no mere spirit of faith, and the taint no longer has a hold over you, but my time in this vessel has long since run its course." she let out a sorrowful sigh.

"Your friend will not be returning with you I'm afraid, but she has made her peace with this."

The words struck Elissa hard, but she smiled even though tears came to her eyes, "She did this for us?" 

Faith smiled and nodded, "She did this for you, her family." Elissa wiped her eyes before anyone could see the tears starting to trail down her cheeks.

"Justice will be staying too," Anders started, "He said he belongs here."

"You'll find a cure for those who are not here with you in the near future, you'll see your new griffon friend there too, and she will guide you to it." Faith waved her hand toward said griffon.

"But she's here in the fade, and griffons are extinct in Thedas, aren't they?" Hawke finally spoke up.

Faith laughed softly, "Are they truly, or have they just not been found again yet?" Hawke's eyes grew wide at the revelation.

"Either way, it appears to be time for you all to leave, lest you become trapped here until the chant is sung in all four corners and my husband returns."

"Wait, are you really Andras-" Elissa started to ask her a question but the spirit snapped her fingers just as she opened her mouth and the group of them soon landed in a heap on the ground beside of the cells where they started their journey.

Hawke loudly groaned from where she had landed.

"Ow, that was unpleasant."

This was certainly Elissa's most noteworthy venture into the fade by far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have a Patreon and maybe now since I've finally posted this update I can finally get started on some other things I've been putting off. Then again I probably won't because I am utterly exhausted.  
> ~ V
> 
> [Vanilla's Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/VanillaHorizon)


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